This invention relates to a wheel hub for a bicycle, specifically a competition bicycle.
The main objective of competition bicycle manufacturers is to reduce the weight of the single components as much as possible. In the case of wheel hubs, conventional technology involves the use of metallic light alloys, such as aluminium alloys and similar. Various solutions have been proposed to reduce the weight of the wheel hub in which the central tubular part of the wheel hub is made of carbon fibre incorporated in a plastic material resin and in which a pair of side caps made of aluminium alloy are fastened to the ends of the carbon fibre central portion. The side caps are provided with housings for supporting rolling bearings and holes for anchoring the wheel spokes.
The objective of this invention is to provide a wheel hub which is lighter and presents better characteristics in terms of rigidity with respect to the known solutions mentioned above.
This objective is attained by a wheel hub comprising a central tubular portion and a pair of side caps, which diameter is larger than said central portion, characterised in that said hub comprises a monolith body made of fibre-reinforced plastic material including said central portion and said side caps.
As is explained in more detail in the following part of this description, the hub according to this invention is lighter and more rigid than the known solutions. The greater rigidity in correspondence to the rolling bearing housings formed inside the side caps reduces the radial play on the bearings and facilitates wheel assembly and centering operations, especially in the case in which the wheel rim as made of fibre-reinforced plastic material, specifically carbon fibre.